Misunderstandings and the Necessity of Precision
by newyorktopaloalto
Summary: How Specs and Bumlets first start dating isn't the most normal of circumstances. Still, they somehow make it work. And hey, who said they were normal guys? Speclets  Specs/Bumlets , Modern Day. Part 1 of my Speclets story arc.


A/N: This is the first part of my, what I like to call, Speclets modern day story arc. Basically, each story will be a part of their lives, from their fist meeting to when they get married or whatever, and maybe even beyond. Obviously, this is their first meeting. Hope you enjoy!

In case you clicked on this without knowing what Speclets was, it's Specs/Bumlets slash. The more you know.

Disclaimer: I wish. Seriously, I do. I would do an awesome job if I owned Newsies.

**~*Speclets*~**

Alex sighed and walked through the door that Dutchy had opened for him. He, in all honesty, didn't want to be here. In this apartment, at this party; but Dutchy asked him, and, well, he could never say no to Dutchy. Such were the perils of being the best friend, he supposed. It was weird, how he became friends with Dutchy—but then, when he thought about it, most of his introductions to people were odd. Dutchy was weird, but that's why they made such a great team. Dutchy's mellowness compared to Alex's perfectionist attitude, and they became an unstoppable force of bromance.

He shook himself out of his jumbled thoughts when Dutchy tapped him on the arm, smiling and nodding without knowing the words actually coming out of Dutchy's mouth. Apparently Dutchy said that he was leaving, because as soon as Alex nodded, Dutchy was gone.

Alex let out a frustrated breath. Well, wasn't that just great? His one, of two, friends at the party left him alone, and the other one was—he scanned the room, seducing Spot. Seducing him well, if Spot's smirk was anything to go by. Damn. He was on his own.

He walked around the main room for a little while, trying to find anyone he knew, declining drinks from strangers; until he ran into another person, literally.

"I am so sorry!" Alex exclaimed, feeling the wetness of spilt alcohol press against his chest, currently pressed into the other person.

"It's no problem, man," came a smooth chuckle.

Alex looked up and saw a boy he had never encountered before. He had spiky, short, brown hair, glasses, a still growing in goatee, and a somewhat striking complexion.

The other seemed to catch his staring and smirked a little.

"I'm Richard," he stated, finally letting go of Alex and offering a hand, "but most people call me Specs."

He looked up and down Alex, smirk growing more with each passing second.

"You can call me whatever you want."

Alex grinned and blushed, laughing slightly into his own shoulder.

"I'm Alex," he replied, shaking the hand offered to him, "people call me Alex."

"Nice to meet you."

"You as well."

They stayed like that for a second, hands never parting, before Alex broke the silence (and the handshake.)

"That was a nice line, by the way," he stated, nodding his head and giving Specs a small grin.

"I was hoping it would be." Specs grinned and Alex caught his breath, because damn that smile lit up his face.

"So, 'people call me Alex,'" Specs continued, ducking his head down slightly to Alex's level, smile slightly smoldering, "what do you major in?"

"Um-" for a second Alex forgot how to speak, all the blood from his brain rushing into his cheeks and neck, "I'm double majoring in Journalism and Early Childhood Development. What about you?"

Specs grinned, smile going from seducing to goofy in milliseconds, "Psychology," he stated proudly, "but I like yours as well."

"Thanks," Alex softly stated, ducking his eyes down and grinning hard at the floor.

"No need to thank what's true," Specs replied, biting his lip and taking a deep breath.

"So, um-" he cleared his throat, and continued only once Alex was looking at him again, "so, a couplea friends were supposed to meet me here, but I was wondering if you wanted to maybe hang out instead?"

Alex blushed even brighter and stammered something about 'won't his friends miss him?'

Specs shrugged and responded in the negative, saying that 'they could handle themselves for a night.'

"I would love to," Alex finally replied.

"Cool," Specs grinned once more, looking down at his shirt.

"Let me change real quick, and I'll meet you back here in a few seconds, okay?"

"Is this your apartment?" Alex asked, shocked.

"And a couplea others, yeah," Specs grinned as if it were nothing and left to one of the back rooms.

Alex stood there, gaping, for a few moments, his breath and heartbeat finally regaining normal speed.

What the hell was that? Alex had never been through anything like that before in his life. It was like being thrown underwater suddenly, mixed with drinking too many energy drinks, mixed with the feeling you get when you don't drink enough water and get dizzy when you stand up. It was exhilarating and terrifying wrapped up in some mystery he had yet to figure out. Alex didn't know what it was, but goddamn, he wanted more.

He was broken out of his thoughts for the second time that night, this time by a heavy arm wrapping itself around his shoulder.

"What, Dutchy?" he asked, rolling his eyes and glancing around surreptitiously.

"I noticed that you didn't have a drink with you, Bumlets, so I got you one," Dutchy grinned, trying to hand over the plastic red cup to a refusing Alex.

"Dutchy, no. Do you remember how, like an hour ago, you appointed me as the designated sober person? So you don't fall on your ass trying to get home. Remember?" He said all of this while peeling off his over shirt, now damp with spilled alcohol, thanking god that he wore a tank underneath.

He tuned back into Dutchy, who still appeared to be thinking about his previous statement. Alex rolled his eyes; Dutchy, if nothing else, was a total lightweight. Eventually he responded in the affirmative and wandered off to go and harass someone else. David, by the looks of it, and Alex smirked at David's obvious attempts to get Dutchy out of the way so he could continue to flirt with Spot.

"What're you lookin' at?"

Alex turned his head around sharply, getting an eyeful of super-close Specs.

"Um-" he replied, backing a step away in shock, "just my friends."

He pointed over vaguely over his shoulder and shrugged minutely.

"You mean Dutchy?" Specs asked, confusion colouring his tone.

Alex nodded and took an incrementally small step closer to Specs.

"You're friends with him?" Specs asked, not caring at his redundancy.

"Yeah," Alex stated, suddenly a little wary, "he's my best friend."

Specs looked down at him, searching, and seemed to come to a realization.

"You're Bumlets!" he exclaimed happily, grinning at the thought.

"Technically," Alex grimaced, scrunching his nose up at the name, "though I don't like to be called that. Ever. Dutchy only does it to annoy me, and no matter how many times I punch him for doing so, he doesn't stop. Just, Alex please."

Specs nodded once more and kept grinning, as if he knew a secret that he didn't want to tell Alex.

Suddenly, Alex became confused, "wait. How do you know my- Oh!" he smacked himself on his forehead, "you're in Psychology together. Right."

Ha paused.

"It's awkward that Dutchy talks about me to strangers," he got out, eyes widening at the thought.

"I dunno," Specs shrugged, "his talking about you made me think you were a pretty cool dude. So I guess it's good that I put two and two together."

He smiled once more and Alex had the realization that Specs hadn't really stopped smiling. He grinned to himself at the thought, hoping desperately that it was because of him.

There was another silence. It wasn't awkward, which Alex was so grateful for, but instead full of anticipation from both parties. Alex cleared his throat, looking down at the shirt the other man had changed into. He noticed that the pants were different as well and smirked a little.

"Did the drink spill on your pants as well?" he asked, smirk growing at Specs' obvious blush.

"No. I just couldn't find another shirt to match the pants I was wearing, so I changed them," Specs defended, the lilt in his tone giving the reality away.

And Alex, for the first time that night, had the upper hand. He grinned up at Specs, letting out a small chuckle as his blush continued to grow. Finally, he spoke:

"You just wanted to look pretty."

"Well, did it work?" And suddenly it was, once again, Alex doing the blushing and stammering. Damn, that boy was quick.

"Ye-yeah," he managed to get out before once again falling silent.

"You don't get flirted with very often, do you?"

It was to short and to the point and Alex just wanted to curl up and die right where he stood. Instead, he just shook his head and prayed that the other wouldn't laugh at him.

So when the first thing he heard was soft chuckling, he flushed brighter and started backing up, attempting to leave the scene. Before he could, however, Specs' hand gripped tight onto his. It stopped Alex in his tracks, and he looked up once more to see Specs' grin, soft this time.

"I think it's cute," he shrugged, pulling Alex closer to his body once more.

"Well, I'm glad," Alex started, hesitantly twining their fingers together, "because it's the only way I know how to be."

Specs laughed at that, making Alex laugh in turn. They stood there for a moment, looking at each other and smiling, before raucous laughter startled the both of them. Moment gone, it became awkward.

Just about as Alex was going to take his hand away, Specs spoke:

"Didja wanna go out onto the balcony? I cordoned it off, so no one's out there. It's quieter so we can talk easier." He shrugged, his free hand going to rub the back of his neck nervously.

"I would love to," Alex stated, resolutely trying to calm his heart rate.

"Cool." Specs continued grinning and neither of them moved for a couple of seconds.

Finally Alex snapped out of it and started walking, dragging Specs behind him.

"Where are you taking me?" Specs asked, laughing, "This is my house, have you even been here before? Do you know where you're going?"

"I haven't," Alex replied, leading Specs into the kitchen, "but 70% of the time balconies are found through the kitchen, and I knew where that was because people kept going in there and coming out with drinks, so-" he stopped once he realized that, yes, there was an entrance to the balcony from the kitchen. He smirked, triumphant.

"I'm impressed," Specs grinned, unlatching the door and gesturing Alex to step through, "even your statistic sounded legit."

"I aim to please," Alex sniffed faux haughtily; he shivered slightly in the cool night air.

"You cold?" Specs asked, closing the glass door and wrapping an arm around Alex's waist.

"I'm fine, just not used to it quite yet. I grew up in the country, and used to walk barefoot in the snow, so I just need to get used to the breeze."

"Why did you do that?" Specs asked incredulously, barking out a laugh.

"My cousin dared me to do it one Christmas. Got hypothermia. Mild case, but nonetheless."

"Oh my God, that's horrible! How old were you?" Specs tightened his grip on Alex's waist and rested his chin on the top of his head.

Alex smiled at the motion and turned his body so they were face to face instead, laughing as Specs lost his balance for a second. He wrapped his own arm around one of Specs' shoulder blades and led him to the railing so Alex could lean against it.

"I was fourteen," he said embarrassedly, once he was in a more comfortable position.

Specs stared at him, shocked, before bursting out into laughter. "Why did you do it?" he managed to get out, before dissolving into giggles once again.

"Because I was dumb and all my cousins were older than me and I suppose I just gave into peer pressure." He shrugged at that, letting out a couple of resigned chuckles himself.

"What about you?" he asked once Specs stopped laughing enough, "Where did you grow up?"

"In the city. Nothin' exciting, really. Went to a lot of museum exhibits for class field trips. You know, usual city boy stuff."

Alex nodded and turned to grin up at him, shaking his bangs out of the way.

**~*Speclets*~**

They spent the next couple of hours that way, chatting and getting to know each other—each laugh or giggle making them step closer together, until it came to the point where Specs was practically straddling Alex's leg, faces mere inches apart.

Suddenly Alex's phone vibrated, and he jumped at the sensation, not expecting it. He answered the phone without looking at the ID, trying to hear the other person over the sound of Specs laughing. The first couple of seconds he didn't hear anything, because the person wasn't speaking or Alex was too engrossed in the feel of Specs shaking against him, he didn't know, but it came as another shock to him when he heard a voice from the other end.

It was Dutchy, of course, and apparently too drunk to manage to say anything other than 'stairs outside, can't get to dorm.' Alex rolled his eyes and hung up the phone, sighing wistfully at the company he already knew he was going to miss.

"That was Dutchy," he explained to a still grinning Specs, "he's too drunk to do anything on his own, so I have to take him back to our dorm. Sorry."

Specs frowned for the first time that night and pushed Alex's bangs to the side of his forehead. He hummed after a moment, nodded his head, and pulled Alex into a tight hug. They stayed like that for a few moments, neither one moving, hardly daring to breathe, until Specs broke away, smiling once more.

"I'm going to need your number," Specs stated after pulling all the way; Alex missed the warmth that he radiated.

"You're going to need it, huh? Like, you won't survive without it?" Alex grinned, raising an eyebrow delicately.

Specs nodded gravely, putting a hand to his heart in mock-pain.

"I will literally die if I don't get your number," he said solemnly, eyes going wide in earnest.

Alex shook his head and motioned for Specs to get his phone out. He did, grinning all the while, and obediently placed Alex's number in his phone.

"I'm going to call you tomorrow, screw the three day waiting period. I'm going to call you and ask you out on a date, so when I do, act surprised, okay?" Specs stated this confidently, his bitten lower lip the only thing giving away his nerves.

Alex nodded and smiled.

"Pretend to be surprised when I say yes," he stated before walking through the sliding door, prepping for 'best friend' mode.

He grinned one last time when he heard the 'you are amazing!' from behind him.

**~*Speclets*~**

Alex woke up, refreshed as ever, and grinned into his pillow. God, he would owe Dutchy for the rest of his life once he found out what Alex was up to the night before. He paused. It was totally worth it. Once he comprehended more of his surroundings, he heard the exaggerated moans that Dutchy was letting out. He rolled his eyes.

"It's your own damn fault," he stated, throwing one of his extra pillows at the lump in the bed across from his.

"Shut up, I'm in pain," came Dutchy's muffled voice, "Can you get me some Tylenol?" he continued when Alex didn't say anything.

Alex sighed and sat up. He dug through his bedside drawer for a second before finding the pain medication and throwing it to his roommate.

Dutchy thanked him profusely, the ball that he was in uncurling slightly. After a few minutes he sat up, wincing when the natural light from the window hit his eyes.

"Why is it so bright?" he complained, squinting at Alex, pleading with him to turn out the lights.

"It's the sun, moron, I can't do anything about that."

"Turn off the sun, why dontcha?"

Alex didn't even deign that with an eye roll.

"So did you end up having at least a modicum of fun last night?" Dutchy finally asked after long minutes of staring into space.

Alex instantly flushed and tried to hide his face in his sleeves. He sat still for a few seconds, long enough to alert Dutchy to the fact that he was contemplating his answer.

"Oh my God, you did!" Dutchy yelled, wincing slightly at his own tone.

"But you met someone, didn't you?" he continued, a smile breaking his features, making him look more crazed than his usual hung-over face usually did.

"I may have met someone, yes," Alex hedged, trying not to show how much said person affected him.

"What was his name? Did you give him your number? Are you guys going to hang out again?" Dutchy looked so earnest and happy that Alex couldn't, in good conscience, refuse him the answers.

He sighed, knowing that once he told, the information would become his inevitable downfall. "His name is Richard, I did give him my number, and he said he would call me today to ask me out."

Ducthy stilled and looked blankly at Alex for a second.

"Specs?" he asked incredulously.

Alex nodded.

Dutchy laughed and shook his head.

"I told you that the two of you would get along great!" he exclaimed.

"What do you mean?" Alex asked, confused and slightly affronted at the laughter, "I just only met him. You've never even mentioned him before."

"Dude, he was the person in my Psych class that I've been trying to set you up with. You know, the one where you said, and I quote, 'I do not wish to go out on a blind date with someone you met in your Psych class, even if he _is _perfect for me'."

Alex gaped at him, finally comprehending why Specs was laughing at him the night before. He flushed a dull red and shook his head minutely.

"Are you fucking serious?" he asked, though he knew the answer.

Dutchy just nodded his head, still smirking.

"¡Dios mío! I must've looked so dumb to him."

"I'm sure he found it adorable. He thinks weirdos are."

Alex threw his final pillow at him, though it did nothing to stifle the giggles that came from the bundle.

"So, he's calling you today?" came the voice from within the mound.

"Yup," Alex said, nodding even though Dutchy couldn't see, "he said that he didn't want to wait the three days."

Dutchy's head popped out from the covers, grimace on his face. "That is so adorable I am literally going to puke rainbows. Are you going to be like this if you two actually start dating? For my sanity, I hope not."

Alex laughed. "We haven't even been out on a date yet, I don't know if he'll actually want to be my boyfriend."

"So you want to be his?" And of course Dutchy, the Psych major, picked up on that one.

"Shuddup," was Alex's only reply.

Dutchy just laughed again, jumping out of bed and exclaiming that he needed his 'hangover cure from the Gods to wake him further.' Alex wrinkled his nose, because he knew that it was just a mixture of cayenne pepper, chocolate syrup and egg whites. When he first got drunk enough to warrant one, he decided to try one with Dutchy, but after that he decided that he preferred the hangover.

Alex sighed and rolled out of bed after Dutchy had barely even left the room—half wanting to watch in wonder as Dutchy pounded down the hangover cure like it was ambrosia and half wanting to stop Dutchy from setting the kitchen on fire somehow. He trudged along the little hallway wondering, not for the first time, why in the hell their dorm had an en suite kitchen pavilion and bathroom, but only one bedroom. It was a question that even after months of contemplating, none of their friends could come up with anywhere close to an acceptable answer.

"So, did he say when he was going to call you?" Dutchy asked, barely looking over his shoulder as he started to separate the eggs.

Alex scrunched up his nose and responded negatively.

"At least you don't have class today," Dutchy stated, tacking on a 'right?' at the end, apparently forgetting what day it was.

"No one has class on Sunday," Alex snorted derisively, "You're stupid when hung-over."

Dutchy responded by slurping an obscene amount of his 'smoothie' and grinning at Alex. Alex gagged and turned a shade paler, darting his eyes away quickly.

"So he'll call you soon," Dutchy prophesized after he was done, "That's the type of thing he does. I'm pretty sure his motto is, 'why do tomorrow what you can do today?' or something akin to that."

Alex hummed and turned down the hallway once more, this time to get ready for the rest of the day.

"I would appreciate a call right about now!" he yelled to the empty air, rolling his eyes fondly when he heard Dutchy stifling laughter from the other room.

**~*Speclets*~**

Despite his luck, or perhaps because of it, it was now 10 pm and Alex had been jumping at every ring, vibrate, or trill that came from his phone. It was pathetic, really, and even Dutchy was getting to the point where all he would do was cast sympathetic glances over to Alex every time he saw him jump at nothing.

At 11, Alex finally gave up, sighing a 'good night' to a TV watching Dutchy. Dutchy murmured something back, either an acknowledgement or a platitude, Alex didn't particularly care.

He trudged to the bedroom, flopping on the bed and burying his head in the pillows, hoping that the inanimate objects would soak up his humiliation. God, but he was stupid. To be painfully cliché about the entire situation, how could a guy like Specs even consider a guy like him? He couldn't, that's what. Alex supposed that maybe it was better that he didn't call, saving him the trouble of falling for Specs and being humiliatingly rejected when the time came to it.

This is why he didn't do relationships. It wasn't because he didn't want to have one, it's just that no one wanted to have one with him. He sighed again, curling up into a ball and turning to face the wall.

After a few moments he heard Dutchy step into the room, footsteps halting at the foot of his bed. The mattress groaned at the sudden extra weight as Dutchy sat down on the edge, squeaking as he moved to place a hand on Alex's back.

"Let me talk to him tomorrow-" Dutchy started, quieting as Alex desperately shook his head.

"No! I'll just seem more pathetic than I already did."

Dutchy hummed and absent-mindedly rubbed Alex's back, not saying anything for a few minutes. Alex breathed in and out, desperately evenly, blinking quickly whenever he felt tears gathering in the backs of his eyes. God, did he like him still, though.

"It just doesn't seem like him, is all," Dutchy finally blurted out.

"Well, you've only known him for a few months, haven't you?" Alex asked, not wanting to talk about it, but sensing that if he did, it would make Dutchy shut up faster.

"I've only known you for a few months, and I have a pretty good hold on you, haven't I?"

"Yeah, but we live together. You just see him," he couldn't even say the name Specs, hardly think it at this point, "in class."

Dutchy nodded and fell silent once more.

"Maybe you'll feel better tomorrow!" Dutchy tried to cheer, wincing when it obviously fell flat, "I mean, you have your writing class tomorrow, you love that!"

Alex just groaned and pulled the covers up over his head. "I feel like I'll never be happy again. Writing class or no."

Dutchy hissed lowly through his teeth and awkwardly got to his feet. Before he left to do whatever it was he did before going to sleep, he reached over and patted Alex on the foot.

"Everything looks brighter from a new day," he stated before exiting the room.

"Did you steal that from a fortune cookie?" Alex called to his retreating back, flopping down gracelessly once more after his exclamation was finished.

He groaned. He embarrassed himself to the point of no return with the guy he fell for on sight and now his best friend was, apparently, Dumbledore. Just what he needed. Not.

Needless to say, it took him a long time to fall asleep that night.

And what Dutchy wouldn't say to anyone ever, not even to Alex himself, was the fact that when he came back in later, he still saw Alex's cell phone clutched in his hand, as if anticipating a call that he was expecting.

**~*Speclets*~**

Alex woke up, still feeling half asleep, and frowned into his pillow. He looked at his phone clock and realized that he only had a couple oh hours until his writing class. He sighed and sat up, noticing that Dutchy hadn't come back from his early morning Psych class yet. He scrunched his face up at that thought. He never wanted to hear the word Psych again. Or anything to do with things he and Specs had spoken about, really.

He groaned. Even his thoughts were making him depressed. He was sure there was something wrong with him, getting so sad over a guy he had met once, and Dutchy would be able to tell him exactly what was wrong if he were just HERE ALREADY.

Alex winced. Yelling inside of your own head doesn't help, check.

The door slammed, jarring him out of his thoughts, and making him disoriented for a coupe of seconds. Dutchy stormed into the room, muttering something to low for Alex to hear, or in a different language, Alex couldn't tell.

"Um…" he started, attempting to find the best words to calm his friend down.

"Stupid!" Dutchy suddenly yelled out, slamming down his backpack.

"I'm sorry?" Alex half asked, half stated.

"No, not you," as if on cue the doorbell rang, followed by frantic knocking. Dutchy groaned and flopped onto his own bed.

"The person at the door?" Alex guessed, not surprised when Dutchy just nodded.

"What happened? Who is it?" he continued concernedly; Dutchy was normally the mellowest dude you could ever find, so something extreme must have happened to put him in such a tizzy.

"Nothing. No one. It's not important." Dutchy sighed and rubbed at his eyes tiredly.

"Should I tell them to go away?" Alex started to hedge over to the bedroom door.

"No!" Dutchy shouted, falling silent as quickly as he had yelled.

Alex glanced at him, a little suspicious, and walked determinedly towards the front door. Dutchy hurried after him, grabbing at his arms and trying to pull him back. When it looked like Alex was about to actually succeed in his venture, he got tackled by a flying Dutchy.

"What the hell?" he groused, once he was able to speak.

"You can't see who it is!" Dutchy yelled in his face, panting harshly.

Alex sighed, frustrated and more than a little irritated, and leveled a _look_ at Dutchy. Dutchy stared into the look for a few tense minutes, before pulling away to the sounds of more knocking on the door. Alex stood up and walked to the front entryway.

"I don't know who the fuck it is that you don't want me to see, but I'll just tell them to go away, shall I?" he asked looking over at Dutchy whilst opening the door.

"Please don't tell me to go away," came the smooth, yet harried sounding, voice from the doorway person.

Alex looked back around his shoulder, face set in stone, as he heard and recognized the other voice. He faced the doorway fully, just kind of standing there, awkwardly.

"I followed Dutchy home," Specs explained, still breathing slightly hard, "damn, you're fast," he added on once he saw said person.

Dutchy didn't say anything in response and Alex was grateful, if not pleased, that Dutchy took his side in the whole debacle. Then he shook his head at himself, because putting it that way made it seem like he was six-years-old or something.

"How can I help you?" Alex finally asked, when it seemed that neither of the other two were going to speak.

"I am so sorry," was the only thing that came out of his mouth.

Alex just looked blankly at him, ignoring the growl that came from Dutchy's mouth. Specs widened his eyes when he heard that, hastening to apologise once more.

"It's okay, really. I totally get it. You didn't have to come and explain. It's what people do at parties, right? Get numbers that they never call," he shrugged, as if doing so would make it hurt less.

Specs widened his eyes, which Alex was not expecting, and physically opened the door the rest of the way, bringing his arms out before awkwardly dropping them to his sides once more.

"Can you just get out, Richard?" Dutchy asked, posing it more of a demand rather than an actual question.

"Dutchy," Alex warned, flickering his eyes back to where he knew Dutchy stood. Dutchy resolutely kept his place, not even leaving when Alex gave him his patented _look_ that usually made him move faster than Skittery did when he saw Race.

"No, I will not _get out_," Specs stated, crossing his arms and facing off against the room at large, "I will not leave because I want to explain."

"Can I please explain, Alex?" he continued, looking down at Alex, eyes seeming to plead.

Alex bit his lip, indecisive. On the one hand, Specs explaining might give him the closure he desperately wanted. (And God did that still sound so pathetic. He met the goddamned guy once, for Christ's sake.) On the other hand, it could make him sadder, and he made it a point not to be intentionally masochistic. He finally nodded slowly, ignoring the spark in Specs' eyes when he did.

"I know I have no descent excuse," he started, ignoring the 'you know that's right' that came from Dutchy, "but here's why I didn't call you yesterday:

"I woke up because my mom called me. Apparently my sister made a surprise visit from Austria, where she lives, to home. She said that I had to come over right away because my sister brought her fiancé, who no one knew about because she wanted to surprise us all with him. So I went home and visited with them. And then my younger sister's friend couldn't help her pick out a prom dress, so she asked me to help, and I couldn't say no, she's my little sister! And by the time I was finished doing that, it was dinner time and my mom said that I should stay over for dinner, so I did, and my family talks a lot, so by the time I could catch the subway back home, it was already almost 1 am. So yeah…"

He paused to take a breath.

"And then when I realized that I had forgotten to call you, it was already too late so I couldn't. But then I realized that I had class with Dutchy early this morning so I figured that I could just get your address off of him and come talk to you in person, but then he was mad at me so I just followed him home instead. And here I am, explaining this whole convoluted story to you.

"So will you still go out with me, or did I totally blow all my chances?"

Alex blinked, taking a moment for all of Specs' words to settle into his brain. He couldn't call because he was hanging out with his family. Alex really shouldn't have found that so cute, but he did. He smiled softly.

"This is your last chance," he said, smile plastered on his face and heart light once more, "so you better make this good."

He smirked, action betraying his words and Specs laughed, sounding relieved.

"I'm glad," he said, reaching out and squeezing Alex's hand with his own for a second, "How does tomorrow at eight sound?"

Alex raised his eyebrow. "On a school night, what if I have an early class on Wednesday?"

"I'll get you home by curfew," Specs promised, "I would've said tonight, but I figured that was too short notice."

Alex laughed. "I like how you're so open about that."

Specs shrugged, "You make me crazy. I'm not usually this weird."

"Yes you are," Dutchy stated from his standing position against the wall.

'Shut up, Dutchy," Specs grinned, turning to stick his tongue out at him, "and stop grinning like that."

"You guys are so adorable, I need a rainbow sickness bag," was all Dutchy said before turning and leaving to go to the kitchen.

"Anyways," Specs turned back to Alex, smile still in place, "tomorrow sounds good? I'll pick you up from here? Or do you want to meet up?"

"Do you even know where we'll be going?"

"Good point, I'll pick you up from here. Is that okay?"

Confident Specs had all but disappeared, leaving blushing Specs in its wake. Alex smiled and nodded, responding that eight sounded 'wonderful.'

Specs grinned once more, before making his leave. He turned back suddenly, almost knocking Alex, who was going to close the door behind him, over. Before Alex could regain all of his balance, Specs leaned slightly down and placed a kiss on his cheek. He pulled away, smiling softly, and said goodbye, leaving for real.

Alex shut the door and leaned against it for a second, grinning like a teenage girl in the 50s who just got their boyfriend's letterman jacket.

After a moment, he happened to glance upon the clock and swore. He had to get ready for class. Before going into "school mode," however, he grinned one last time, excited for the upcoming day.

**~*Speclets*~**

It was Tuesday evening and Alex was freaking out. He didn't know what to wear, what to do with his hair, nothing. And he kept thinking about what if Specs didn't like him and left in the middle of the date. Or worse, didn't show up to the dorm at all. Or even worse, showed up and told Alex that he didn't want to go on the date because he was a loser and Specs didn't date losers.

Oh God, he was going to mess this up. He could feel it.

"Calm down, Alex," Dutchy commanded, not even looking up from the textbook he was doodling in, "he's crazy about you."

Alex let out a deep breath, calming himself down manually. Maybe Dutchy was right all of those times when he said that he needed to see a therapist about his self-esteem and anxiety issues.

"Do I need to go see a psychologist?" he asked Dutchy, deliberating between two over-shirts all the while.

"Everyone needs a psychologist, even psychologists. The entire world is filled with miserable people who are afraid of being told they're miserable, and becoming even more so because of it. We're in an age where all we do is rely on pills, never trying to fix problems, but instead burying them. But do you need to see a psychologist more than the rest of the world? Wouldn't hurt. I literally feel _my _anxiety levels rise when yours do, that's how bad it gets sometimes. It also wouldn't hurt to talk about your mood swings. And your self-confidence issues."

He stopped there and Alex rolled his eyes, because Dutchy always got philosophical when high. But he did have a point. Maybe he should look into that, it wouldn't actually hurt him any in the long run.

He sighed and chose a shirt at random, closing his eyes and just sticking it on. Looking in the mirror, he decided that he didn't look _too_ bad and went into the restroom to fix his hair one last time.

"Dude, if you have a hit before you leave for your date, you'll feel a lot calmer," Dutchy shouted from the bedroom.

"No way, Dutch, you remember what happened last time I toked up?"

Dutchy was silent for a moment. Alex then heard explosive laughter, and figured that Dutchy did, indeed, remember.

"Good point, man," Dutchy finally managed to get out, wandering into the restroom to watch Alex fix his hair.

"Ugh. I'm hungry. Do we have any chips, Bum?"

"In the pantry. In the box I labeled 'only for when you're high, Dutchy, otherwise don't even think about eating this shit.'"

Dutchy smiled at him through the mirror and saluted before leaving.

Alex sighed once more and played around with his hair, basically pouting when it didn't come out the way he wanted it to. He marveled at himself, amazed that he even cared about his hair this much. He never cared about his hair, and here he was, trying his damndest to make it look like he stepped off of a runway. He finally decided to put it up the way he normally did, wetting down once more so he could start over. He had to be himself for Specs, and that was that. Even if he didn't like himself all that much most of the time. He nodded, resolute, and went to work on spiking his hair like normal.

By the time he was done with that, it was 7:45 and he started freaking out again. Oh God, what if Specs forgot? What of he was waiting at the place they were supposed to meet, thinking Alex ditched him? What if, what if, what if?

Alex shook his head. No 'what ifs.' He wouldn't allow his life to be ruled by over-analyzing every move someone made. In journalism it was a good thing, not so much for real life. He would go on this date and be the best he could be.

He nodded to himself once more, before going to answer the doorbell.

"You're early," he stated, grinning at Specs' outfit, "Though I do like your outfit. You even managed to get matching pants this time."

"Haha, very funny, Alex. And I thought that being early this time would make up for being extremely late the last."

He grinned back at Alex and offered his arm exaggeratedly. Alex scrunched his nose up and took his hand instead, entwining their fingers together, laughing at the flush that seemed to encompass Specs' cheeks suddenly.

"It does make up for it, so four for you."

"Are you quoting Mean Girls?" Specs asked, smiling hugely at Alex.

Alex rolled his eyes, "Everyone quotes that movie. It's not a big thing."

"Okay you two, get outta my doorway, you're making me puke sparkles."

Dutchy then proceeded to push them out, slamming the door behind them. He popped back out for a second:

"You behave like a gentleman and have him home in time for curfew, you hear?"

Specs nodded and crossed his heart. Dutchy nodded back, heaving a final, 'you two kids have fun' at them, before leaving them once more to the night air.

Specs started walking and Alex stumbled for a moment, forgetting that they were connected. He caught up, grimacing at Specs' slight grin, and blushed at the way he started swinging their arms.

"You are a child," he stated, barking out a laugh at Specs' affronted countenance.

"Where are we going anyways?" he continued when he realized that Specs wasn't going to say anything.

"Well, I remember you saying how hard it was to find good Mexican food on a budget, and how it wasn't worth cooking it because Dutchy didn't like it, so I searched around and found a place that I think you'll like." He ducked his head at the end of his statement, cheeks turning a ruddy colour.

"That is one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me, thank you."

Specs just shrugged and swung their hands some more, grinning at Alex's reluctant laugh.

**~*Speclets*~**

They got to the restaurant and conversation didn't suddenly stop, like Alex had secretly feared it would. It stayed flowing and nice, as easy to talk to Specs as it had been that first night out on the balcony.

"So, child development, right?"

"Hmm?"

"You're double majoring, and one of them is childhood development, right?"

"Oh, yeah. Why?"

Specs shrugged. "It's just. I get the Journalism, because you talk like a journalist sometimes, and you're super analytical, but I'm trying to place where I see the child liking aspect in you."

Alex laughed, "Well, I can certainly see why you're majoring in Psychology," he stated, "but in all seriousness, I had a super big family growing up. I really love kids, and am good with them, so…"

Specs still didn't seem to understand.

"Basically, while I don't want to be a teacher or anything, I definitely do not have enough patience for that, I want to help kids somehow. I just think it will be beneficial to me in the future."

Specs finally nodded, grinning.

"That's really cool, man," he replied before telling an anecdote about how when he was a junior in high school he wanted to be a school psychologist, but quickly got over that idea.

Alex hardly stopped grinning the whole time they were at dinner.

**~*Speclets*~**

On the walk back, Specs suddenly halted, making Alex run into his slightly larger form.

"What?" he complained, moving forwards as to stand next to Specs.

"We should get ice cream," Specs practically whispered, nodding his head to the ice cream shop.

Alex glanced at him, taking in his longing expression, and huffed out a laugh.

"Sounds fine with me," he said, tugging Specs along to the entrance.

"You really like ice cream," he stated, once they ordered and sat down at a little table.

"Ice cream is delicious, everyone should like it," Specs replied, eating it like he hadn't eaten for days.

Alex just laughed and handed Specs a napkin he would need later. Specs grinned in thanks and took off eating once more.

**~*Speclets*~**

"So I know that this is against first date protocol, or whatever, but I have a question for you."

"Yeah sure, totally. What is it?"

Alex took a deep breath before replying.

"I was wondering if you just wanted to be my boyfriend, screw the 'getting to know each other' dates."

Specs grinned and nodded his head, swooping down and pressing his lips to Alex's before he could say anything else. Alex felt his hands at his waist, pulling him in closer, and he smiled a little into the kiss, hands going to grip onto the back of Specs' head.

They stayed that way for a few minutes, kissing lightly, until they heard knocking from the inside of the window.

"Your father wants you back inside," Specs whispered, pressing his forehead against Alex's.

Alex proceeded to roll his eyes and flip off Dutchy, who was watching through the curtains.

"Screw him," he replied, leaning up slightly to kiss Specs once more.

"That's weird."

"Oh my God, shut up!"

Specs laughed and buried his face into Alex's shoulder.

"By the way," his voice came out muffled and slightly breathless, Alex shivered at the feeling of the warm breath on his neck, "I would love to be your boyfriend."

"Good," Alex stated, running his hands through Specs' hair and grinning at the empty space around him.

"I should go, though," Specs suggested after a few minutes of silence. "I have to be up early for class tomorrow, and I know you do as well. I'll tell you what though. I'll meet you after your class and we can get lunch or something, does that sound all right?"

Alex nodded and moved away from Specs, kissing him one last time before letting go.

Just as Specs was going to turn away, Alex remembered something.

"Can I get your number?" he asked, smiling ruefully and pulling out his cell phone, "Just in case something pops up and you can't call tomorrow."

Specs nodded and plugged his number in, handing it back to Alex once he was done.

Alex grinned and waved goodbye to Specs, who was currently walking backwards, waving as well. He stifled a grin when Specs ran into a garbage can, waving one last time before heading inside his dorm.

After hearing a quick overview of his date, Dutchy let him go, a 'you two still want to make me vomit!' shouted after him.

A couple minutes later, he heard his phone vibrate and he curiously picked it up, wondering who would text him at 11 o'clock at night. The screen flashed 'your boyfriend' at him and he grinned, clicking the text.

'just wanted to text you to tell you goodnight. 3 specs'

He replied:

'You sap; I'll see you tomorrow. Good night as well. –Alex 3'


End file.
